Mr Lory said he had never "seen the like" of an incident like this in 20 years in the police.He said: "This was a spontaneous incident, the like of which I have never come across in my police service.

"How brazen the offence was, and how much information was flowing into us at such a rapid rate of knots. My main drive, my main goal is to ensure the safety of the public. Ensure nobody else was hurt."

Speaking about how the incident began to develop, he said: "I would say I was finding it difficult to assimilate information that was coming to us from so many points at that stage." Describing the moment Bird opened fire, Mr Wilson said: "I heard a blast. Seen the flash before I realised what it was.

"I felt a gust of wind going past my ear."Mr Wilson told the jury it was only after he heard the blast that he noticed the gun."My initial thought was he has fired a blank," Mr Wilson said. "After a couple of seconds, Derrick just drove off and I still thought it was a prank." Mr Wilson was taken into the nearby Whitehaven police station where he was given medical treatment.

He drove around the one-way system behind Bird, who then returned to the taxi rank Mr Goodwin told the inquest: "He was about 15 to 20 yards in front of me. I wound my window down and papped my horn saying 'It's him in the taxi'. I heard two more shots at the taxi rank and then he set off up Duke Street again."

A police officer, Pc Mick Taylor, ran from the direction of the nearby police station and jumped into Mr Goodwin's Ford Escort, he told the inquest."I shouted 'Mick, get in. It's him in the taxi, he's got a gun'," he said.

Bird drove past the police station and stopped at the traffic lights at the junction of Scotch Street and Lowther Street.

Mr Goodwin came on to Scotch Street and witnessed Mr Wilson, 34, being shot."I said to to Mick 'What the bloody hell is going on here, that is three taxi drivers he has shot'," he said. He slowed down to let a police van pass and followed Bird on to Coach Road where he went on to shoot taxi driver Terry Kennedy and his passenger.

Pc Taylor went to attend the latest gunshot victims while Mr Goodwin continued his pursuit of Bird. He reached a junction and a police van turned left on to Low Road while he spontaneously went right on to Kells Road - the direction that Bird ultimately took.

Mr Goodwin lost sight of Bird and turned off on to the Woodhouse housing estate to continue to look for him but Bird had travelled straight on and out towards St Bees and then eventually to Egremont, where he continued his killing spree.

Mr Goodwin was asked if he considered his own safety as he followed the gunman. He replied: "I don't know why I did it. If I thought about it, I wouldn't have done it."